Method for waking from energy-efficient hibernation

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to energy-efficient hibernation in indoor wireless localization systems. A tag passively associates with a detection point (DP) and establishes a reveille time. The tag will awaken at the reveille time and send or receive a beacon to or from its associated DP. If the tag is receiving a beacon, it will awaken, receive, phase-lock its clock based on when the beacon was expected and when it was actually received, and return to hibernation. The DP transmits a scattershot of beacons, one for every tag in the system. If the tag is sending a beacon, it will awaken, send its beacon, and return to hibernation. The DP will receive the beacon and adjust its own clock based on the delay between when the beacon was expected and when it was actually received. The tag will broadcast its location to the DP on a set interval.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part and claims benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/065,197, filed Oct. 7, 2020 which is acontinuation-in-part and claims benefit of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/778,577, filed Jan. 31, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,841,894), thespecification of which is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For indoor localization systems comprising a plurality of radiofrequency(RF) tags and a plurality of detection points (DP), a balanced trade-offbetween energy-efficiency and accuracy is a primary design objective.Past indoor localization systems strove to maximize accuracy by keepingRF tags in an active state for the sake of updating the tags and DPs oneach other's locations often. This limits energy efficiency due to thefrequent transmissions taking place between members of the system.Research found that RF tags can switch between an active and inactivestate and only communicate with DPs while active in order to save powerwhile updating the location of each RF tag and DP enough to maintain ahigh level of accuracy.

Prior art indoor localization systems that are designed with RFIDtechnology employ multiple states in RF tags by keeping them in a stateof hibernation while remaining open to signal reception until the DPsends a wakeup signal to every associated tag in order to update thelocation. At this point, the tags are switched to an active state inorder to create a network. While these systems improve energy efficiencywhen compared to prior systems and maintain a high level of accuracy,they are limited by the fact that the tags must always be prepared toreceive a wakeup signal and that every RF tag must be kept active afterreceiving a wakeup signal. Thus, an indoor localization system thatkeeps RF tags in an even less active state, only switches the tags to areceptive state at the exact time a DP sends a wakeup signal, andreturns the tags to an inactive state immediately afterwards all whilemaintaining accuracy would improve energy efficiency even further.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of radiofrequencyindoor localization.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to radio-frequency (RF) tags wakingfrom energy-efficient hibernation to receive and send transmissions todetection points (DPs) for the sake of energy efficiency. A RF tag maydetect that it has moved and passively associate with a DP. Associatingwith the DP may generate a reveille time in the tag based on the ID ofboth the tag and the DP. The reveille time may determine when the tagwill awaken to receive transmission from the DP or send messages to theDP and may be kept track of by an imprecise clock.

From this point, the present invention has different methods dependingon whether a tag will be receiving or sending transmissions. In the caseof a tag receiving transmissions, on a constant interval of about 30seconds, kept track of by a precise clock, a DP may transmit a beaconcomprising an address for every possible address so that it may send itsdata to any tag that may be passively associated with the DP. At thereveille time, the tag may awaken and receive the beacon from the DP ithas associated with and read the address to confirm that it is receivingfrom the correct DP. Upon accepting the beacons, the tag may execute aphase lock on its imprecise clock based on the time between when thebeacon was received and when it was expected to be received in order tocorrect the imprecise clock and sync with the precise clock of the DP.The tag may then return to a hibernation state until the next reveilletime causes it to wake again. The tag saves power by remaining activeonly when necessary and hibernating at all other points.

In the case of a tag sending transmissions, the tag may awaken at thereveille time using a sloppy clock. The tag may transmit a beaconcomprising an address to an associated DP, which the DP may thenreceive. The DP may confirm the address of the beacon and delay itstiming for future transmissions to the tag. The delay may be calculatedby a precise clock and is equal to a difference between when the beaconwas received to when the beacon was expected to be received. The tag maythen return to a hibernation state until the next reveille time causesit to wake again. The tag saves power by remaining active only whennecessary and hibernating at all other points.

After both of these cases, a tag may update its location to a DP that ithas associated with by transmitting a plurality of transmissions. Thismay be done on an interval of about 15 minutes, meaning that a DP in aplurality of DPs may only know the exact location of the associated tagevery 15 minutes.

The present invention is additionally directed to two-way authenticationbetween an RF tag and a DP for the sake of security. The DP may generatetwo copies of a prime integer to act as a first challenge and a secondchallenge. The first challenge may be transmitted to the RF tag,comprising a root of trust with an encryption key. The tag may encryptthe first challenge using its encryption key, and transmit the encryptedchallenge back to the DP. Upon receiving the encrypted challenge, the DPsends the encrypted challenge to a cloud application which searchesthrough its contained database of every encryption key mapped to everytag. When the encryption key corresponding to the tag is found in thedatabase the cloud application may use the encryption key on the secondchallenge and compare the tag's encrypted first challenge to the DP'sencrypted second challenge, and if the challenges are equal then theauthentication procedure has passed.

One of the many inventive technical features of the present invention isthe scattershot of beacons transmitted by a DP, along with the awakeningof a RF tag to receive the correct beacons at the correct time. Withoutwishing to limit the invention to any theory or mechanism, it isbelieved that the technical feature of the present inventionadvantageously provides for a decrease in overall energy consumption dueto the fact that the RF tag is synced to awaken and use power only whenthe DP is transmitting to it, and is synced to hibernate in betweenintervals. None of the presently known references or work has the uniqueinventive technical feature of the present invention.

Furthermore, the scattershot of beacons transmitted by a DP, along withthe awakening of a RF tag to receive the correct beacons at the correcttime is counterintuitive. The reason that it is counterintuitive isbecause prior systems currently considered to offer the lowest possiblepower approach (such as Bluetooth low energy) would have the tags“transmit before listening” whereas this system has the tags “listenbefore transmitting.” Thus, the prior art teaches away from the presentinvention and utilizing a “listen before transmitting” system iscounterintuitive. Despite the prior art teaching away from the presentinvention, the latter is more energy efficient while maintaining acomparable level of accuracy.

Another inventive technical feature of the present invention is thedefinition of the recipient array as a series of bits with the bitassociated with a RF tag set to 1 and all other bits set to 0. Withoutwishing to limit the invention to any theory or mechanism, it isbelieved that the technical feature of the present inventionadvantageously provides for a decrease in energy consumption by RF tagsbecause it only needs to reference one bit instead of translating abinary number into a different form and referencing the result. None ofthe presently known prior references or work has the unique inventivetechnical feature of the present invention.

Furthermore, the definition of the recipient array as a series of bitswith the bit associated with a RF tag set to 1 and all others set to 0is counter intuitive. The reason that it is counter intuitive is becauseexisting low power systems such as Bluetooth low energy transfer full IDinformation every time an equivalent tag wake up procedure is executed.Since unique ID bit fields can be 128 bits or more (for example aBluetooth Low Energy UUID is 128 bits), one of ordinary skill in the artwould expect this approach to use much more power and significantlyreduce channel capacity if there are many tags. Thus, the recipientarray format of the present invention is counterintuitive. Surprisingly,the energy used to transmit the large recipient arrays was balanced outby the savings in energy by simply having the tags reference anindividual bit in the array instead of translating the number into adifferent form, resulting in lower energy consumption overall.

Another inventive technical feature of the present invention is thecombination of a RF tag adjusting its clock to wake up at the right timeto receive transmissions from a DP. Without wishing to limit theinvention to any theory or mechanism, it is believed that the technicalfeature of the present invention advantageously provides for greateraccuracy in the system of energy-efficient hibernation. None of thepresently known prior references or work has the unique inventivetechnical feature of the present invention.

Furthermore, the RF tag adjusting its clock to wake up at the right timeto receive transmissions from the DP is counterintuitive. The reasonthat it is counterintuitive is because in systems using unlicensedtechnologies such as WiFi or Bluetooth the long term clock accuracy andperformance (such as drift and phase noise) of both tags and equivalentaccess points are not considered at system level as one skilled in theart would expect frequent clock adjustments to remedy these issues toconsume excessive power and possibly reducing overall accuracy. Forexisting unlicensed systems and their corresponding standards, suchparameters are only considered during active interactions and notconsidered over the longer term since unlicensed standard systems bynature rely on unsynchronized and coordinated network elements. Thus,the frequent adjustment of clocks in the tags is counterintuitivebecause prior art teaches away from this technique. Despite prior artteaching away from the present invention, the latter is able to utilizefrequent clock adjustments for better long-term accuracy.

Any feature or combination of features described herein are includedwithin the scope of the present invention provided that the featuresincluded in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as willbe apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge ofone of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects ofthe present invention are apparent in the following detailed descriptionand claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following detailed descriptionpresented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationto receive beacons broadcast by a detection point (DP). If the tag hasmoved, the tag may passively associate with a DP by determining a timeto wake up and rendezvous with that DP when the DP is broadcastingbeacons specific to that time slot. To conserve energy, the tag mayannounce its updated location to the DPs very infrequently. The tag maysleep until it's time to wake up and receive its beacons. Uponawakening, the tag may receive beacons and may confirm whether thebeacons are beacons transmitted from the associated DP. Uponconfirmation that the beacons are transmissions of the associated DP,the tag may correct its sloppy clock by phase-locking its sloppy clockwith the signal.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationto transmit beacons to a DP. If the tag has moved, the tag may passivelyassociate with a DP by determining a time to wake up and rendezvous withthat DP when the DP is broadcasting beacons specific to that time slot.To conserve energy, the tag may announce its updated location to the DPsvery infrequently. The tag may sleep until it's time to wake up andtransmit its beacons. Upon receiving the tag's transmitted beacons, theDP may confirm whether the beacons are from an associated tag. Uponconfirmation that the beacons are transmissions of an associated tag,the DP may determine a difference between when the beacon was receivedand when it was expected. The DP may then delay future transmissionsbased on the time difference.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of two-way authentication between a tag and a DPusing a Root of Trust. The tag may receive a challenge from the DP. Thetag may encrypt the challenge using a key that may be contained in thetag's Root of Trust. The encrypted response may then be verified using adatabase listing every Root of Trust, its key, and the correspondingtag.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationto receive beacons broadcast by a DP. If the tag has moved, the tag maypassively associate with a DP by determining a time to wake up andrendezvous with that DP when the DP is broadcasting beacons specific tothat time slot. To conserve energy, the tag may announce its updatedlocation to the DPs very infrequently. The tag may sleep until it's timeto wake up and initiate a bare boot that readies the tag to meet itsrendezvous in as little time as possible. The bare boot may be a systemboot that goes directly from hibernation into an awakened state byomitting routine procedures such as performing system checks, readingall the memory locations to check for corruption, and checking theinput/output (IO) of peripherals. While these routines are typicallyperformed in the prior art, they are unnecessary in the presentinvention since only 30 seconds have passed since the previous boot andso corruption and failure are therefore highly unlikely. Moreover,abstention from these otherwise standard procedures yields significantpower savings that enhance the economical energy efficiency of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationto transmit beacons to a DP. If the tag has moved, the tag may passivelyassociate with a DP by determining a time to wake up and rendezvous withthat DP when the DP is broadcasting beacons specific to that time slot.To conserve energy, the tag may announce its updated location to the DPsvery infrequently. The tag may sleep until it's time to wake up andinitiate a bare boot that readies the tag to transmit its beacons assoon as possible. The bare boot may be a system boot that goes directlyfrom hibernation into an awakened state by omitting routine proceduressuch as performing system checks, reading all the memory locations tocheck for corruption, and checking the IO of peripherals. While theseroutines are typically performed in the prior art, they are unnecessaryin the present invention since only 30 seconds have passed since theprevious boot and so corruption and failure are therefore highlyunlikely. Moreover, abstention from these otherwise standard proceduresyields significant power savings that enhance the economical energyefficiency of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationevery 30 seconds to received beacons broadcasted from a DP with emphasisadded to the address structure and protocol. The address of the beacon'srecipient may be determined from the array index of the bit that's equalto 1, where all other bits have been set to 0. If the address were acombination of bits in the array (e.g., a binary number of 7500 digits),there would have to be an extra step to translate that combination ofbits into a base-10 number. There is less computation (and thereforeless power consumed) by simply referencing each address to each arrayindex.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationto transmit beacons to a DP with emphasis added to the address structureand protocol. The address of the beacon's recipient may be determinedfrom the array index of the bit that's equal to 1, where all other bitshave been set to 0. If the address were a combination of bits in thearray (e.g., a binary number of 7500 digits), there would have to be anextra step to translate that combination of bits into a base-10 number.There is less computation (and therefore less power consumed) by simplyreferencing each address to each array index.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationevery 30 seconds to received beacons broadcasted from a DP. The lengthof the intervals of transmission, the range of the number oftransmissions, and the durations of listening, transmitting, andsleeping are exemplary of the best mode of the preferred embodiment ofthe invention to achieve optimal energy-efficiency.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a tag waking from energy-efficient hibernationto transmit beacons to a DP. The length of the intervals oftransmission, the range of the number of transmissions, and thedurations of listening, transmitting, and sleeping are exemplary of theoptimal configuration of this embodiment of the invention to achieveoptimal energy-efficiency.

FIG. 10 is a timeline showing a wake-up & response mechanism between aloosely coupled Detection Point and Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) tag. TheBLE tag may be scheduled to wake up every 30 seconds via a sloppy clocksuch as, for example, a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element. Thedetection point (DP) may transmit beacons according to its more preciseclock, such as, for example, a temperature-compensated oscillator timingelement. The DP may broadcast bursts of beacons to all possiblerecipients, and each burst may be specifically addressed to therespective recipient and transmitted at the scheduled time forrendezvous. At the rendezvous time, the BLE tag may receive the wake-upbeacons transmitted by the DP and may undergo a phase correction tocorrect its sloppy clock according to the time the beacons werereceived.

FIG. 11 is a timeline showing an authentication method between the DPand the tag. The DP may signal the tag to wake up (using the wake-uproutine of FIG. 1) and the tag may acknowledge. Then, the devices mayundergo a challenge-response protocol, wherein the tag may receive achallenge from the DP. The tag may encrypt the challenge using a keythat may be contained in the tag's Root of Trust. The encrypted responsemay then be verified using a database listing every Root of Trust, itskey, and the corresponding BLE tag.

FIG. 12 is a timeline showing a passive association protocol. When thetag has lost communication with its associated DP, the tag may determinethat it may have moved. The tag may listen for signals from any of theDPs and may select a DP from the received signals. Forenergy-efficiency, upon this selection, the tag may not transmit itsassociation with the DP to the DP and may only determine a rendezvoustime to receive the DP's beacons. Thus, the association with the DP maybe passive since the DP may not be aware of this association until thetag broadcasts its updated location every 15 minutes.

FIG. 13 is a timeline showing the tag signaling its updated locationevery 15 minutes to the DPs. The location signal may comprise 1advertising packet (out of 20 packets total) transmitted every 100 ms.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing all cyclic processes. Further detail of thecomposition of the beacons is shown as well as the relationship betweenthe RecipientArray index, the tag ID, and the DP ID. Emphasis has beenadded to key power-saving strategies such as an extended power-efficientsleep wherein the awakening is timed to receive the tag's intendedbeacons, the use of a phase lock loop to correct apower-efficient-but-sloppy clock, and synchronization with a DP'stransmissions without transmitting a coordination, notification oracknowledgment for the DP (i.e., passive association).

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a method wherein the tag awakens every 30seconds and broadcasts beacons to the DP (instead of the DP broadcastingbeacons to the tag every 30 seconds). While the DP can broadcast a burstof beacons for every bit in the RecipientArray in the preferredembodiment since it isn't subject to the energy conservation restraintsof the tag, it's energy-inefficient for the tag to do so. Thus, sinceeach tag only broadcasts to one DP, the tag saves energy by onlybroadcasting the beacons that are specifically directed to itspassively-associated DP. Like the preferred embodiment, the tag stillutilizes a sloppy clock as a power conservation feature. However, inthis embodiment, the DP delays future responses according to the timedifference.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a system of waking from energy-efficienthibernation to send or receive indoor localization beacons. The systemmay comprise a radiofrequency (RF) tag, and each RF tag may comprise afirst processor capable of executing computer-executable instructions, afirst randomly-accessed memory (RAM) device, a first antenna, a firstmemory device, and a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element(clock). The system may further comprise a plurality of detection points(DPs). Each DP in the plurality of DPs may comprise a second processor,a second RAM device, a second antenna, a second memory device, and atemperature-compensated crystal oscillator (clock). The RF tag mayassociate with one DP of the plurality of DPs.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of a system for waking from energy-efficienthibernation to send or receive indoor localization beacons. The systemmay comprise a beacon in a plurality of beacons. Each beacon in theplurality of beacons may be a RF advertising packet comprising apayload. The payload may comprise a RecipientArray (an array of bits)and a command. The system may further comprise a RF tag. The RF tag maycomprise a first processor, a first RAM device, a first memory device,and a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (clock). The systemmay further comprise a plurality of detection points (DPs). Each DP inthe plurality of DPs may comprise a second processor, a second RAMdevice, an antenna, a second memory device, and atemperature-compensated crystal oscillator (clock). The RF tag may sendthe beacon to a DP in the plurality of DPs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Following is a list of elements corresponding to a particular elementreferred to herein:

1001 tag/radiofrequency (RF) tag

1002 detection point (DP)

1003 first challenge integer in two-way authentication

1004 resistive-capacitive circuit timing element

1005 temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) timing element

1006 second challenge integer in two-way authentication

1101 processor of tag/RF tag

1102 RAM device of tag/RF tag

1103 antenna of tag/RF tag

1104 memory device of tag/RF tag

1105 processor of DP

1106 RAM device of DP

1107 antenna of DP

1108 memory of DP

1201 transmission

1301 beacon (RF advertising packet)

1302 payload

1303 RecipientArray

1304 command

Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention features a method (100) ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to receive indoor localizationbeacons. The energy-efficient state of hibernation may be defined as astate of extremely low battery usage. The extremely low battery usagestate of a tag may consume approximately 1 μA/s per tag, compared to theapproximate battery usage of an awakened state, 0.5 mA/s per tag. Insome embodiments, the method may comprise passively associating (101) atag (1001) with a detection point (DP) (1002) of a plurality of DPs ifthe tag (1001) has moved to a new location. The procedure forassociating may comprise determining a reveille time. The method mayfurther comprise the DP (1002) transmitting (102) at a first interval abeacon for every possible address. In some embodiments, the beacon maycomprise the address. The method may further comprise the tag (1001)executing an awakening cycle (103) at a second interval at the reveilletime using a clock (1004). The reveille time may be a value derived fromat least one of a tag ID and a DP ID. In some embodiments, the reveilletime is equal at least one of a hash or a concatenation of a tag ID anda DP ID and the clock may be a resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004). The reveille time may be calculated in a cloud server, alocal server, a DP, a tag, or a combination thereof. The term“awakening” in the present invention refers to an act of waking from alow-power state, carrying out an action, and returning to said low-powerstate. The awakening cycle may comprise the awakened tag (1001)receiving (104) the transmitted beacons and confirming (105) theaddress. In some embodiments, the awakening cycle may further comprisedetermining (106) a time difference between when the beacon was receivedand when the beacon was expected, phase-locking (107) the clock based onthe time difference, and returning to sleep (108). In some embodiments,the overall method may further comprise the tag (1001) transmitting(109) at a third interval a plurality of transmissions comprising theupdated location of the tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise each DP (1002) ofthe plurality of DPs receiving the updated location and filtering noiseassociated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. The procedurefor receiving through the use of the Kalman filter may comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle of Arrival of theKalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltiple SignalClassification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determined Angleof Arrival.

Referring to FIG. 2, the present invention features a method (200) ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to transmit an indoorlocalization beacon. In some embodiments, the method may comprisepassively associating (201) a tag (1001) with a detection point (DP) ofa plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to a new location. Theprocedure for associating may comprise the tag (1001) determining areveille time. The reveille time may be a value derived from at leastone of a tag ID and DP ID. In some embodiments, the reveille time isequal to at least one of a concatenation or hash of a tag ID and a DPID, a geographic number, a location ID of a DP (1002) modified by alocation ID of a tag (1001), or a combination thereof. The reveille timemay be calculated in a cloud server, a local server, a DP, a tag, or acombination thereof. The method may further comprise the tag (1001)executing an awakening cycle (202) at a second interval at the reveilletime using a first clock (1004). The term “awakening” in the presentinvention refers to an act of waking from a low-power state, carryingout an action, and returning to said low-power state. The first clock(1004) may be a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004). Theawakening cycle may comprise the awakened tag (1001) transmitting (203)a beacon at a first interval, the DP (1002) receiving (204) the beaconand the DP (1002) confirming (205) an address. In some embodiments, thebeacon may comprise the address. In some embodiments, the awakeningcycle may further comprise the DP (1002) delaying future transmissionsusing a second clock (1005). The second clock (1005) may be atemperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) timing element (1005).In some embodiments, the delay may be equal to a difference between whenthe beacon was received to when the beacon was expected. The awakenedtag (1001) may return to sleep (209). The method may further comprisetransmitting (210) a plurality of transmissions comprising the updatedlocation of the tag (1001) from the tag (1001) at a third interval.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise each DP (1002) ofthe plurality of DPs receiving the updated location and filtering noiseassociated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. The procedurefor receiving through the use of the Kalman filter may comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle of Arrival of theKalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltiple SignalClassification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determined Angleof Arrival.

Referring to FIG. 3, the present invention features a method (300) oftwo-way authentication between a tag (1001) and a DP (1002). In someembodiments, the method may comprise a DP (1002) generating (301) afirst challenge (1003) and a second challenge (1005) equal to eachother. In some embodiments, the first challenge and the second challengeare prime integers. The method may further comprise the DP (1002)transmitting (302) the first challenge (1003) to the tag (1001). The tag(1001) may comprise a tag ID and a root of trust (1001), wherein theroot of trust (1001) further comprises a first encryption key. Themethod further comprises the tag (1001) receiving (303) the transmittedfirst challenge (1003), encrypting (304) the first challenge (1003)using the first encryption key, and transmitting (305) the encryptedfirst challenge (1004) to the DP (1002). The DP (1002) may comprise adatabase (1002) and the database (1002) may further comprise a pluralityof second encryption keys, each associated with the respective tag ID.The method further comprises the DP (1002) receiving (306) thetransmitted encrypted first challenge (1004), retrieving (307) thesecond encryption key associated with the respective tag ID of the tag(1001) from the database (1002), encrypting (308) the second challenge(1005) using the second encryption key, and authenticating (309) the tag(1001) by comparing the received encrypted first challenge (1004) to theencrypted second challenge (1006). In some embodiments, the method mayuse, on average, less than 250 nano-Watts.

Referring to FIG. 4, the present invention features a method (400) ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to receive indoor localizationbeacons by initiating a bare boot. In some embodiments, the method maycomprise a tag (1001) passively associating (401) with a detection point(DP) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to a newlocation. The procedure for associating may comprise the tag (1001)determining a reveille time. In some embodiments, the reveille time isequal to at least one of a concatenation or hash of a tag ID and a DPID, a geographic number, a location ID of a DP (1002) modified by alocation ID of a tag (1001), or a combination thereof. The method mayfurther comprise the DP (1002) transmitting (402) at a first interval abeacon comprising an address for every possible address, and the tag(1001) executing an awakening cycle (403) at a second interval at thereveille time using a clock. The first clock (1004) may be aresistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004). The term “awakening”in the present invention refers to an act of waking from a low-powerstate, carrying out an action, and returning to said low-power state.The awakening cycle may comprise the awakened tag (1001) initiating(404) a bare boot, receiving (405) the transmitted beacons, confirming(406) the address, determining (407) a time difference between when thebeacon was received and when the beacon was expected, phase-locking(408) the clock based on the time difference, and returning to sleep(409). In some embodiments, the bare boot may comprise booting fromhibernation directly into an awakened state. The bare boot may boot fromhibernation directly into an awakened state by foregoing system checks,reading memory locations to check for corruption, checking theinput/output (IO) of peripherals, etc., thus resulting in a moreenergy-efficient booting method. In an exemplary embodiment, the averageenergy consumption of bare booting a RF tag (1001) may be lower than theaverage energy consumption of booting the RF tag (1001) normally (15mW/ms), e.g. 10 mW/ms. The method may further comprise the tag (1001)transmitting (410) at a third interval a plurality of transmissionscomprising the updated location of the tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise each DP (1002) ofthe plurality of DPs receiving the updated location and filtering noiseassociated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. The procedurefor receiving through the use of the Kalman filter may comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle of Arrival of theKalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltiple SignalClassification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determined Angleof Arrival. In some embodiments, a second clock (1005), associated withthe DP (1002) is a TCXO timing element (1005).

Referring to FIG. 5, the present invention features a method (500) ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to transmit an indoorlocalization beacon by initiating a bare boot. In some embodiments, themethod may comprise a tag (1001) passively associating (501) with adetection point (DP) (1002) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) hasmoved to a new location. The procedure for associating may comprise thetag (1002) determining a reveille time. In some embodiments, thereveille time is equal to at least one of a hash or a concatenation of atag ID and a DP ID. The method may further comprise the tag (1001)executing an awakening cycle (502) at a second interval at the reveilletime using a first clock (1004). The first clock (1004) may be aresistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004). The term “awakening”in the present invention refers to an act of waking from a low-powerstate, carrying out an action, and returning to said low-power state.The awakening cycle may further comprise the tag (1001) initiating (503)a bare boot, and transmitting (504) at a first interval a beacon thatmay comprise an address. In some embodiments, the bare boot may comprisebooting from hibernation directly into an awakened state. The bare bootmay boot from hibernation directly into an awakened state by foregoingsystem checks, reading memory locations to check for corruption,checking the IO of peripherals, etc., thus resulting in a moreenergy-efficient booting method. In an exemplary embodiment, the averageenergy consumption of bare booting a RF tag (1001) may be lower than theaverage energy consumption of booting the RF tag (1001) normally (15mW/ms), e.g. 10 mW/ms. The awakening cycle may further comprise the DP(1002) receiving (505) the beacon, confirming (506) the address, anddelaying future transmissions using a second clock (1005). The secondclock (1005) may be a TOXO timing element (1005). The delay may be equalto a difference between when the beacon was received to when the beaconwas expected. The awakened tag (1001) may return to sleep. The methodmay further comprise that tag (1001) transmitting (511) at a thirdinterval a plurality of transmissions comprising the updated location ofthe tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise each DP (1002) ofthe plurality of DPs receiving the updated location and filtering noiseassociated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. The procedurefor receiving through the use of the Kalman filter may comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle of Arrival of theKalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltiple SignalClassification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determined Angleof Arrival.

Referring to FIG. 16, the present invention features a system of wakingfrom energy-efficient hibernation to receive indoor localizationbeacons. This beacon is a radiofrequency (RF) advertising packet thatmay comprise an array of address bits. The system may comprise a RF tag(1001), that may comprise a first processor (1101) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a first randomly-accessed memory (RAM)component (1102), a first antenna (1103), and a first memory component(1104). The memory may comprise instructions for associating (101) witha detection point (DP) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has movedto a new location. The procedure for associating may comprisedetermining a reveille time based on a combination of a tag ID and a DPID of the associated DP (1002). In some embodiments, the reveille timemay be equal at least one of a hash or a concatenation of a tag ID and aDP ID. The memory may further comprise instructions for executing anawakening cycle (103) at a second interval at the reveille time using aclock (1004). The term “awakening” in the present invention refers to anact of waking from a low-power state, carrying out an action, andreturning to said low-power state. The awakening cycle may comprisereceiving (104) beacons, confirming (105) an address, determining (106)a time difference between when the beacons were received and when thebeacons were expected, phase-locking (107) the clock (1004) based on thetime difference, and returning to sleep (108). The memory may alsocomprise of instructions for updating at a third interval the locationof the tag (1001). The updating procedure may comprise transmitting(109) at a third interval a plurality of transmissions comprising theupdated location of the tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise the DP (1002). TheDP may comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM component (1106), asecond antenna (1107), and a second memory component (1108). The memorymay further comprise instructions for transmitting (102) at a firstinterval the beacon for every possible address, wherein the beaconcomprises the address.

In some embodiments, the memory (1108) of the DP (1002) may furthercomprise instructions for receiving the updated location and filteringnoise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. Theprocedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise determining an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) toimprove the accuracy of the determined Angle of Arrival.

In some embodiments, the first clock (1004), associated with the RF tag(1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004) and thesecond clock (1005), associated with the DP (1002), is a TCXO timingelement (1005).

Referring again to FIG. 16, the present invention features a system forwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to transmit an indoorlocalization beacon. In some embodiments, the system may comprise a RFtag (1001). The tag may comprise a first processor (1101) capable ofexecuting computer-executable instructions, a first RAM component(1102), a first antenna (1103), and a first memory component (1104). Thememory may comprise instructions for passively associating (201) with aDP of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to a new location.The association procedure may comprise determining a reveille time. Insome embodiments, the reveille time may be equal at least one of a hashor a concatenation of a tag ID and a DP ID. The memory may furthercomprise instructions for executing an awakening cycle (202) at a secondinterval at the reveille time using a first clock (1004). The term“awakening” in the present invention refers to an act of waking from alow-power state, carrying out an action, and returning to said low-powerstate. The awakening cycle may comprise transmitting (203) at a firstinterval a beacon comprising an address and returning to sleep (209).The memory may further comprise instructions for transmitting (210) at athird interval a plurality of transmissions comprising the updatedlocation of the tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise the DP (1002). TheDP may comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM component (1106), asecond antenna (1107), and a second memory component (1108). The memorymay comprise instructions for receiving (204) the beacon, confirming(205) the address, and delaying (206) future transmissions to the RF tag(1001) using a second clock (1005). In some embodiments, the delay maybe equal to a difference between when the beacon was received to whenthe beacon was expected.

In some embodiments, the memory (1108) of the DP (1002) furthercomprises instructions for receiving the updated location and filteringnoise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. Theprocedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise determining an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) toimprove the accuracy of the determined Angle of Arrival.

In some embodiments, the first clock (1004), associated with the RF tag(1001) is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004) and thesecond clock (1005), associated with the DP (1002) is a TCXO timingelement (1005).

Referring again to FIG. 16, the present invention features a system ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to receive indoor localizationbeacons by initiating a bare boot. The beacon may be a RF advertisingpacket comprising an array of address bits. In some embodiments, thesystem comprises a RF tag (1001). The RF tag may comprise a firstprocessor (1101) capable of executing computer-executable instructions,a first RAM component (1102), a first antenna (1103), and a first memorycomponent (1104). The memory may comprise instructions for associating(401) with a DP of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to anew location. The procedure for associating may further comprisedetermining a reveille time based on a combination of a tag ID and a DPID of the associated DP (1002). In some embodiments, the reveille timemay be equal at least one of a hash or a concatenation of a tag ID and aDP ID. The memory may further comprise instructions for executing anawakening cycle (403) at a second interval at the reveille time using afirst clock (1004). The term “awakening” in the present invention refersto an act of waking from a low-power state, carrying out an action, andreturning to said low-power state. The awakening cycle may furthercomprise initiating (404) a bare boot, receiving (405) beacons,confirming (406) an address, determining (407) a time difference betweenwhen the beacons were received and when the beacons were expected,phase-locking (408) the clock (1004) based on the time difference, andreturning to sleep (409). The memory may further comprise instructionsfor updating at a third interval the location of the tag (1001). Theupdating procedure may further comprise transmitting (410) at a thirdinterval a plurality of transmissions comprising the updated location ofthe tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise the DP (1002). TheDP may comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM (1106), a second antenna(1107), and a second memory component (1108). The memory may compriseinstructions for transmitting (403) at a first interval the beacon forevery possible address, wherein the beacon comprises the address.

In some embodiments, the memory (1108) of the DP (1002) may furthercomprise instructions for receiving the updated location and filteringnoise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. Theprocedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise determining an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) toimprove the accuracy of the determined Angle of Arrival.

In some embodiments, the first clock (1004), associated with the RF tag(1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004) and thesecond clock (1005), associated with the DP (1002), is a TCXO timingelement (1005).

Referring again to FIG. 16, the present invention features a system forwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to transmit an indoorlocalization beacon by initiating a bare boot. In some embodiments, thesystem may comprise a RF tag (1001). The RF tag may comprise a firstprocessor (1101) capable of executing computer-executable instructions,a first RAM component (1102), a first antenna (1103), and a first memorycomponent (1104). The memory may comprise instructions for passivelyassociating (501) with a DP of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) hasmoved to a new location. The procedure for associating may comprisedetermining a reveille time. In some embodiments, the reveille time maybe equal at least one of a hash or a concatenation of a tag ID and a DPID. The memory may further comprise instructions for executing anawakening cycle (502) at a second interval at the reveille time using afirst clock (1004). The awakening cycle may further comprise initiating(503) a bare boot, transmitting (503) at a first interval a beacon thatmay comprise an address, and returning to sleep (510). The memory mayfurther comprise instructions for transmitting (511) at a third intervala plurality of transmissions comprising the updated location of the tag(1001).

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise the DP (1002). TheDP may comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM component (1106), asecond antenna (1107), and a second memory component (1108). The memorymay comprise instructions for receiving (504) the beacon, confirming(505) the address, and delaying (506) future transmission to the RF tag(1001) using a second clock (1005). The delay may be equal to adifference between when the beacon was received to when the beacon wasexpected.

In some embodiments, the memory (1108) of the DP (1002) may furthercomprise instructions for receiving the updated location and filteringnoise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. Theprocedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise determining an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, applying MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) to improvethe accuracy of the determined Angle of Arrival.

In some embodiments, the first clock (1004), associated with the RF tag(1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004) and thesecond clock (1005), associated with the DP (1002), is a TOXO timingelement (1005).

Referring again to FIG. 16, the present invention features a system ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to receive indoor localizationbeacons by initiating a WakeUp subroutine. The system may comprise a tag(1001). The tag may comprise a first processor (1101) capable ofexecuting computer-executable instructions, a first RAM component(1102), a first antenna (1103), and a first memory component (1104). Thememory may comprise instructions for passively associating (601) with aDP (1002) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to a newlocation. The procedure for associating may comprise determining areveille time to transmit a beacon addressed to the DP (1002). In someembodiments, the reveille time may be equal at least one of a hash or aconcatenation of a tag ID and a DP ID. The memory further comprisesinstructions for executing a WakeUp subroutine every 30 seconds. TheWakeUp subroutine may comprise executing an awakening cycle (603) at thereveille time using a first clock (1004), receiving (604) at least oneof 4 beacons, and confirming that each received beacon of the at least 4beacons is addressed to the tag (1001). The procedure for confirming maycomprise finding (605) the bit in the array that is equal to 1, andverifying (606) whether the array index of the found bit is equal toreveille time. The WakeUp subroutine may further comprise phase-locking(607) the first clock (1004) based on a difference between when thebeacon was received and when the beacon was expected, sleeping (608),and broadcasting (609) 20 transmissions (1201) to the plurality of DPsevery 15 minutes at a rate of 1 transmission every 100 milliseconds.Each of the 20 transmissions (1201) may comprise an updated location ofthe tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise the DP (1002). TheDP may comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM component (1106), asecond antenna (1107), and a second memory (1108). The memory maycomprise instructions for transmitting (602) every 100 milliseconds thebeacon 4 times for every array index of the array. The beacon maycomprise the array of bits and wherein the bit located at the arrayindex that is equal to reveille time is set to 1 and all other bits areset to 0.

In some embodiments, each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs may receivethe updated location and filtering noise associated with eachtransmission using a Kalman filter. The procedure for receiving throughthe use of the Kalman filter may comprise determining, by each DP (1002)of the plurality of DPs, an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs,MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of thedetermined Angle of Arrival.

In some embodiments, the first clock (1004), associated with the tag(1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004) and thesecond clock (1005), associated with the DP (1002), is a TCXO timingelement (1005).

Referring again to FIG. 16, the present invention features a system ofwaking from energy-efficient hibernation to transmit an indoorlocalization beacon by initiating a WakeUp subroutine. In someembodiments, the system may comprise a tag (1001). The tag may comprisea first processor (1101) capable of executing computer-executableinstructions, a first RAM component (1102), a first antenna (1103), anda first memory component (1104). The memory may comprise instructionsfor passively associating (701) the tag (1001) with a DP (1002) of aplurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to a new location. Theprocedure for associating may comprise determining a reveille time totransmit a beacon addressed to the DP (1002) from the tag (1001). Insome embodiments, the reveille time may be equal at least one of a hashor a concatenation of a tag ID and a DP ID. The memory may furthercomprise instructions for executing a WakeUp subroutine every 30seconds. The WakeUp subroutine may comprise executing an awakening cycle(702) at the reveille time using a first clock (1004), and transmitting(703) the beacon comprising an array of bits from the tag (1001). Theterm “awakening” in the present invention refers to an act of wakingfrom a low-power state, carrying out an action, and returning to saidlow-power state. In some embodiments, the bit located at an array indexthat is equal to reveille time is set to 1 and all other bits are set to0. The WakeUp subroutine may further comprise returning to sleep (710),and broadcasting (711) 20 transmissions (1201) to the plurality of DPsevery 15 minutes at a rate of 1 transmission every 100 milliseconds.Each of the 20 transmissions (1201) may comprise an updated location ofthe tag (1001).

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise a DP (1002). The DPmay comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM component (1106), asecond antenna (1107), and a second memory component (1108). The memorymay comprise instructions for receiving (704) the beacon in the DP(1002), and confirming that the beacon is addressed to the DP (1002).The procedure for confirming may comprise finding (705) the bit in thearray that is equal to 1, and verifying (706) whether the array index ofthe found bit is equal to reveille time. The memory may further compriseinstructions for the DP (1002) adjusting its timing of futuretransmissions to the tag (1001) according to a delay that is equal to adifference between when the beacon was received and when the beacon wasexpected using a second clock (1005).

In some embodiments, each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs may receivethe updated location and filtering noise associated with eachtransmission using a Kalman filter. The procedure for receiving throughthe use of the Kalman filter may comprise determining, by each DP (1002)of the plurality of DPs, an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs,MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of thedetermined Angle of Arrival.

In some embodiments, the first clock (1004), associated with the tag(1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004) and thesecond clock (1005), associated with the DP, is a TCXO timing element(1005).

In some embodiments of the present invention, the frequency at which asystem executes a WakeUp subroutine may be increased in order for a DP(1002) to reach a greater plurality of tags in a sector or to accountfor noise. The frequency at which the system executes a WakeUpsubroutine may also be decreased for a smaller plurality of tags in asector. In some embodiments, a tag (1001) will await a transmission froma DP (1002) at reveille time for a specific amount of time before timingout and returning to sleep. In other embodiments, a tag (1001) willcontinue waiting for a transmission by a DP (1002) at reveille timeuntil a transmission is received. In some embodiments, a DP (1002) maysend an alert to a higher-level layer of a network when an unresponsivetag (1001) is detected.

EXAMPLE

The following is a non-limiting example of the present invention. It isto be understood that said example is not intended to limit the presentinvention in any way. Equivalents or substitutes are within the scope ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a specific embodiment of the present inventionfeatures a method (600) of waking from energy-efficient hibernation totransmit an indoor localization beacon by initiating a WakeUpsubroutine. The method may comprise a tag (1001) passively associating(601) with a detection point (DP) (1002) of a plurality of DPs if thetag (1001) has moved to a new location. The procedure for associatingmay comprise the tag (1001) determining a reveille time to transmit abeacon addressed to the DP (1002). The reveille time may be equal to atleast one of a concatenation or hash of a tag ID and a DP ID, ageographic number, a location ID of a DP (1002) modified by a locationID of a tag (1001), or a combination thereof. The method may furthercomprise the DP (1002) transmitting (602) every 100 milliseconds abeacon 4 times for every array index of an array. The beacon maycomprise an array of bits and wherein the bit located at an array indexthat is a combination of the tag (1001) ID and the DP (1002) ID is setto 1 and all other bits are set to 0.

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise the tag(1001) executing a WakeUp subroutine every 30 seconds. The WakeUpsubroutine may comprise the tag (1001) executing an awakening cycle(603) at the reveille time using a first clock (1004), initiating (604)a bare boot, receiving (605) at least one of the 4 beacons, andconfirming that each received beacon of the at least 4 beacons isaddressed to the tag (1001). The first clock (1004) may be aresistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004). The procedure forconfirmation may comprise the tag (1001) finding (606) the bit in thearray that is equal to 1, and verifying (607) whether the array index ofthe found bit is a combination of the tag (1001) ID and the DP (1002)ID. The WakeUp subroutine may further comprise the tag (1001)phase-locking (608) the first clock (1004) based on a difference betweenwhen the beacon was received and when the beacon was expected, andreturning to sleep (609). The method may further comprise the tag (1001)broadcasting (610) 20 transmissions (1201) to the plurality of DPs every15 minutes at a rate of 1 transmission every 100 milliseconds, whereineach of the 20 transmissions (1201) comprises an updated location of thetag (901).

The method may further comprise each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPsreceiving the updated location and filtering noise associated with eachtransmission using a Kalman filter. The procedure for receiving throughthe use of the Kalman filter may comprise each DP (1002) of theplurality of DPs determining an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) toimprove the accuracy of the determined Angle of Arrival. A second clock(1005), associated with the DP (1002) may be a temperature-compensatedcrystal oscillator (TCXO) timing element (1005).

Referring to FIG. 7, a specific embodiment of the present inventionfeatures a method (700) of waking from energy-efficient hibernation totransmit an indoor localization beacon by initiating a WakeUpsubroutine. The method may comprise a tag (1001) passively associating(701) with a DP (1002) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has movedto a new location. The procedure for associating may comprise the tag(1001) determining a reveille time to transmit a beacon addressed to theDP (1002). The reveille time may be equal to at least one of aconcatenation or hash of a tag ID and a DP ID, a geographic number, alocation ID of a DP (1002) modified by a location ID of a tag (1001), ora combination thereof. The method may further comprise the tag (1001)executing a WakeUp subroutine every 30 seconds. The WakeUp subroutinemay comprise the tag (1001) executing an awakening cycle (702) at thereveille time using a first clock (1004), and transmitting (703) thebeacon. The first clock (1004) may be a resistive-capacitive circuittiming element (1004). The beacon may comprise an array of bits, whereinthe bit located at an array index that is equal to reveille time is setto 1 and all other bits are set to 0. The WakeUp subroutine may furthercomprise the DP (1002) receiving (704) the beacon, and confirming thatthe beacon is addressed to the DP (1002). The procedure for confirmingmay comprise the DP (1002) finding (705) the bit in the array that isequal to 1, and verifying (706) whether the array index of the found bitis equal to reveille time. The WakeUp subroutine may further comprisethe DP (1002) delaying (707) the time at which it will send the tag(1001) future transmissions after a delay that is equal to a differencebetween when the beacon was received and when the beacon was expectedusing a second clock (1005). The tag (1001) may then return to sleep(710). The method may further comprise the tag (1001) broadcasting (711)20 transmissions (1201) to the plurality of DPs every 15 minutes at arate of 1 transmission every 100 milliseconds, wherein each of the 20transmissions (1201) comprises an updated location of the tag (1001).

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs receiving the updated location andfiltering noise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter.The procedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle ofArrival of the Kalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltipleSignal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determinedAngle of Arrival. The second clock (1005), associated with the DP (1002)may be a TCXO timing element (1005).

Referring to FIG. 8, a specific embodiment of the present inventionfeatures a method (800) for a plurality of detection points (DPs) tolocate a radiofrequency (RF) tag (1001) of a plurality of tags, using RFindoor localization comprising a plurality of beacons. A beacon (1301)may be a RF advertising packet comprising a payload, the payload maycomprise a RecipientArray and a command, and the RecipientArray may bean array of bits. The method may comprise the tag (1001) executing (801)a PassiveAssociation subroutine if the tag (1001) detects a change of alocation of the tag (1001). The PassiveAssociation subroutine maycomprise the tag (1001) listening (802) for a duration of 1 millisecondevery 100 milliseconds for 20 seconds (301), and selecting (803) a DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs. The procedure for selecting may comprisecombining the tag ID and the DP ID. The PassiveAssociation subroutinemay further comprise the tag (1001) determining (804) a ReveilleTimebased on the combination of the tag ID and the DP ID, wherein theReveilleTime is when to wake up and listen for 4 ExpectedBeaconstransmitted by the DP (1002). In some embodiments, the reveille time isequal to at least one of a concatenation or hash of a tag ID and a DPID, a geographic number, a location ID of a DP (1002) modified by alocation ID of a tag (1001), or a combination thereof.

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise the DP (1002)executing a WakeUp subroutine for each index of the RecipientArray. TheWakeUp subroutine may comprise the DP (1002) transmitting (805) 4beacons at a rate of 1 beacon every 100 milliseconds using a TCXO timingelement (1005). For each beacon (1301) of the 4 beacons, the bit locatedat the index of RecipientArray (1303) is equal to 1 and every other bitof the RecipientArray (1303) is equal to 0.

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise the tag(1001) executing a Respond subroutine every 30 seconds. The Respondsubroutine may comprise the tag (1001) executing an awakening cycle(806) at the ReveilleTime using a resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004), and listening (807) for the 4 ExpectedBeacons. Theprocedure for listening may comprise the tag (1001) receiving (808) thebeacon (1301) comprising a RecipientArray (1303), wherein each bit ofthe RecipientArray is located at an index. Listening may furthercomprise the tag (1001) finding (809) an index of a bit that is equal toone, and determining (810) that the received beacon is an ExpectedBeacon if the index of the bit is equal to the combination of the tag IDand the DP ID. The procedure for listening may be repeated until the tag(1001) receives the 4 ExpectedBeacons. The Respond subroutine mayfurther comprise the tag (1001) determining (811) a time differencebetween a time when the 4 ExpectedBeacons were received and a time whenthe 4 ExpectedBeacons were expected, utilizing (812) the time differencein a phase lock loop to correct the resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004) of the tag (1001), and returning to sleep (813).

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise updating(814), by the tag (1001), the location of the tag (1001) every 15minutes. The procedure for updating may comprise the tag (1001)transmitting (815) 20 transmissions (1201) at a rate of 1 transmissionevery 100 milliseconds, each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs receiving(816) the 20 transmissions (1201), and filtering (817) noise associatedwith each transmission of the 20 transmissions (1201).

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs receiving the updated location andfiltering noise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter.The procedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle ofArrival of the Kalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltipleSignal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determinedAngle of Arrival.

Referring to FIG. 9, a specific embodiment of the present inventionfeatures a method (900) for a plurality of DPs to locate a RF tag (1001)of a plurality of tags, using RF indoor localization comprising aplurality of beacons. A beacon (1301) may be a RF advertising packetcomprising a payload (1302), the payload may comprise a RecipientArray(1303) and a command (1304), and the RecipientArray may be an array ofbits. The method may comprise the tag (1001) executing (901) aPassiveAssociation subroutine if the tag (1001) detects a change of alocation of the tag (1001). The PassiveAssociation subroutine maycomprise the tag (1001) listening (902) for a duration of 1 millisecondevery 100 milliseconds for 20 seconds (301), and selecting (903) a DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs. The procedure for selecting comprisesthe tag (1001) determining a ReveilleTime based on the combination ofthe tag ID and the DP ID, wherein the ReveilleTime is when to wake upand listen for 4 ExpectedBeacons transmitted by the DP (1002). TheReveilleTime is equal to at least one of a concatenation or hash of atag ID and a DP ID, a geographic number, a location ID of a DP (1002)modified by a location ID of a tag (1001), or a combination thereof.

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise the tag(1001) executing a WakeUp subroutine every 30 seconds. The WakeUpsubroutine may comprise the tag (1001) executing an awakening cycle(904) at the ReveilleTime using a resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004), and transmitting (905) 4 beacons at a rate of 1 beaconevery 100 milliseconds using a resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004). For each beacon of the 4 beacons, the bit located at anindex of RecipientArray (1303) is equal to 1, wherein the index is equalto ReveilleTime, and every other bit of the RecipientArray (1303) isequal to 0. The WakeUp subroutine may further comprise the tag (1001)returning to sleep (915).

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise the DP (1002)executing a Respond subroutine for each index of the RecipientArray(1303). The Respond subroutine may comprise the DP (1002) listening(906) for the 4 ExpectedBeacons. The procedure for listening maycomprise the DP (1002) receiving (907) the beacon (1301), comprising aRecipientArray (1303). Each bit of the RecipientArray is located at anindex. The Respond subroutine may further comprise the DP (1002) finding(908) an index of a bit that is equal to one, and determining (909) thatthe received beacon (1301) is an ExpectedBeacon if the index of the bitis equal to the combination of the tag ID and the DP ID. The procedurefor listening may be repeated until the DP (1002) receives the 4ExpectedBeacons. The Respond subroutine may further comprise the DP(1002) determining (910) an awakening time difference between a timewhen the 4 ExpectedBeacons were received and a time when the 4ExpectedBeacons were expected, and delaying (911) the time at whichfuture transmission will be sent to the tag (1001) using a delay equalto the awakening time difference.

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise updating(916), by the tag (1001), the location of the tag (1001) every 15minutes. The procedure for updating may comprise the tag (1001)transmitting (917) 20 transmissions (1201) at a rate of 1 transmissionevery 100 milliseconds, each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs receiving(918) the 20 transmissions (1201), and filtering (919) noise associatedwith each transmission of the 20 transmissions (1201).

The method of the specific embodiment may further comprise each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs receiving the updated location andfiltering noise associated with each transmission using a Kalman filter.The procedure for receiving through the use of the Kalman filter maycomprise each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs determining an Angle ofArrival of the Kalman-filtered transmission, and applying MUltipleSignal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determinedAngle of Arrival.

Referring to FIG. 17, a specific embodiment of the present inventionfeatures a system for waking from energy-efficient hibernation toreceive indoor localization beacons by initiating multiple subroutines.The system may comprise a plurality of beacons. A beacon (1301) is a RFadvertising packet that may comprise a payload (1302). The payload maycomprise a RecipientArray (1303) and a command (1304), wherein theRecipientArray is an array of bits.

The system may further comprise a RF tag (1001). The RF tag may comprisea first processor (1101) capable of executing computer-executableinstructions, a first RAM component (1102), and a first memorycomponent. The memory may comprise instructions for executing (801) aPassiveAssociation subroutine if the tag (1001) detects a change of alocation of the tag (1001). The PassiveAssociation subroutine maycomprise listening (802) for a duration of 1 millisecond every 100milliseconds for 20 seconds (301), and selecting (803) a DP (1002) ofthe plurality of DPs. The procedure for selecting may comprise combiningthe tag ID and the DP ID. The PassiveAssociation subroutine may furthercomprise determining (804) a ReveilleTime based on the combination ofthe tag ID and the DP ID, wherein the ReveilleTime is when to wake upand listen for 4 ExpectedBeacons (1301) transmitted by the DP (1002).The reveille time may be equal at least one of a hash or a concatenationof a tag ID and a DP ID. The memory may further comprise instructionsfor executing a Respond subroutine every 30 seconds. The Respondsubroutine may comprise executing an awakening cycle (806) at theReveilleTime using a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element (804),and listening (807) for the 4 ExpectedBeacons (1301). The procedure forlistening may comprise receiving (808) the beacon (1301), comprising aRecipientArray (1303), wherein each bit of the RecipientArray is locatedat an index. The procedure for listening may further comprise finding(809) an index of a bit that is equal to one, and determining (810),that the received beacon is an ExpectedBeacon (1301) if the index of thebit is equal to the combination of the tag ID and the DP ID. Theprocedure for listening may be repeated until the DP (1002) receives the4 ExpectedBeacons. The Respond subroutine may further comprisedetermining (811) a time difference between a time when the 4ExpectedBeacons (1301) were received and a time when the 4ExpectedBeacons were expected, utilizing (812) the time difference in aphase lock loop to correct the resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (804) of the tag (1001), and returning to sleep (813). Thememory may further comprise instructions for updating (814) the locationof the tag (1001) every 15 minutes. The procedure for updating maycomprise transmitting (815) 20 transmissions (1201) at a rate of 1transmission every 100 milliseconds.

The system may further comprise a plurality of detection points. Each DP(1002) may comprise a second processor (1105) capable of executingcomputer-executable instructions, a second RAM component (1106), anantenna (1107), and a second memory component (1108). The memory maycomprise instructions for executing a WakeUp subroutine for each indexof the RecipientArray (1303). The WakeUp subroutine may comprisetransmitting (805) 4 beacons (1301) at a rate of 1 beacon every 100milliseconds using a TOXO timing element (1005). For each beacon of the4 beacons, the bit located at the index of RecipientArray (1303) isequal to 1 and every other bit of the RecipientArray (1303) is equal to0. The memory may further comprise instructions for updating (806), bythe tag (1001), the location of the tag (1001) every 15 minutes. Theprocedure for updating may comprise each DP (1002) of the plurality ofDPs receiving (816) the 20 transmissions (1201), and filtering (817)noise associated with each transmission of the 20 transmissions (1201).

In the system of the specific embodiment, each DP (1002) may receive theupdated location and filtering noise associated with each transmissionusing a Kalman filter. The procedure for receiving through the use ofthe Kalman filter may comprise determining, by each DP (1002) of theplurality of DPs, an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission, and applying, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs,MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of thedetermined Angle of Arrival.

In the system of the specific embodiment, the first clock (1004),associated with the RF tag (1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuittiming element (1004) and the second clock (1005), associated with theDP (1002), is a TCXO timing element (1005).

Referring again to FIG. 17, a specific embodiment of the presentinvention features a system for waking from energy-efficient hibernationto transmit an indoor localization beacon by initiating multiplesubroutines. The system may comprise a plurality of beacons. A beacon(1301) is a RF advertising packet that may comprise a payload (1302).The payload may comprise a RecipientArray (1303) and a command (1304),wherein the RecipientArray (1303) is an array of bits.

The system may further comprise a RF tag (1001). The RF tag may comprisea first processor (1101) capable of executing computer-executableinstructions, a first RAM component (1102), and a first memory component(1104). The memory may comprise instructions for executing aPassiveAssociation subroutine if the tag (1001) detects a change of alocation of the tag (1001). The PassiveAssociation subroutine maycomprise listening (902) for a duration of 1 millisecond every 100milliseconds for 20 seconds (301), and selecting (903) a DP (1002) ofthe plurality of DPs. The procedure for selecting may comprise combiningthe tag ID and the DP ID. The reveille time may be equal at least one ofa hash or a concatenation of a tag ID and a DP ID. ThePassiveAssociation subroutine may further comprise determining (903) aReveilleTime based on the combination of the tag ID and the DP ID,wherein the ReveilleTime is when to wake up and listen for 4ExpectedBeacons transmitted by the DP (1002). The memory may furthercomprise instructions for executing a WakeUp subroutine every 30seconds. The WakeUp subroutine may comprise executing an awakening cycle(904) at the ReveilleTime using a resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004), and transmitting (905) 4 beacons at a rate of 1 beaconevery 100 milliseconds using a resistive-capacitive circuit timingelement (1004). For each beacon of the 4 beacons, the bit located at anindex of RecipientArray is equal to 1, wherein the index is equal toReveilleTime and every other bit of the RecipientArray is equal to 0.The WakeUp subroutine may further comprise returning to sleep (915). Thememory may further comprise instructions for updating the location ofthe tag (1001) every 15 minutes. The procedure for updating may comprisetransmitting (916) 20 transmissions (1201) at a rate of 1 transmissionevery 100 milliseconds.

The system of the specific embodiment may further comprise a pluralityof detection points. Each DP (1002) comprises a second processor (1105)capable of executing computer-executable instructions, a second RAMcomponent (1106), an antenna (1107), and a second memory component(1108). The memory may comprise instructions for executing a Respondsubroutine for each index of the RecipientArray. The Respond subroutinemay comprise the DP (1002) listening (906) for the 4 ExpectedBeacons.The procedure for listening may comprise receiving (907) the beacon(1301) comprising a RecipientArray, wherein each bit of theRecipientArray is located at an index, finding (908) an index of a bitthat is equal to one, and determining (909) that the received beacon isan ExpectedBeacon if the index of the bit is equal to the combination ofthe tag ID and the DP ID. The procedure for listening may be repeateduntil the DP (1002) receives the 4 ExpectedBeacons. The Respondsubroutine may further comprise determining (910) an awakening timedifference between a time when the 4 ExpectedBeacons were received and atime when the 4 ExpectedBeacons were expected, and adjusting its timingto send future transmission to the tag (1001) with a delay equal to theawakening time difference. The memory may further comprise instructionsfor updating (916) the DP (1002) on the location of the tag (1001) every15 minutes. The procedure for updating may comprise the tag (1001)transmitting (917) 20 transmissions (1201) at a rate of 1 transmissionevery 100 milliseconds, each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs receiving(918) the 20 transmissions (1201), and filtering (919) noise associatedwith each transmission of the 20 transmissions (1201).

In the system of the specific embodiment, each DP (1002) of theplurality of DPs may receive the updated location and filtering noiseassociated with each transmission using a Kalman filter. The procedurefor filtering through the use of the Kalman filter may comprisedetermining, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs, an Angle ofArrival of the Kalman-filtered transmission, and applying, by each DP(1002) of the plurality of DPs, MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC)to improve the accuracy of the determined Angle of Arrival.

In the system of the specific embodiment, the first clock (1004),associated with the RF tag (1001), is a resistive-capacitive circuittiming element (1004) and the second clock (1005), associated with theDP (1002), is a TCXO timing element (1005).

The present invention features a method (100) of waking fromenergy-efficient hibernation to receive indoor localization beacons. Insome embodiments, the method may comprise passively associating (101),by a tag (1001), with a detection point (DP) of a plurality of DPs ifthe tag (1001) has moved to a new location. Associating may comprisedetermining, by the tag (1001), a reveille time. The reveille time maybe a value derived from at least one of a tag ID and a DP ID. The methodmay comprise transmitting (102) at a first interval, by the DP (1002), abeacon for every possible address and executing an awakening cycle (103)at a second interval, by the tag (1001), at the reveille time using aclock.

Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed thescope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention isonly to be limited by the following claims. In some embodiments,descriptions of the inventions described herein using the phrase“comprising” includes embodiments that could be described as “consistingessentially of” or “consisting of”, and as such the written descriptionrequirement for claiming one or more embodiments of the presentinvention using the phrase “consisting essentially of” or “consistingof” is met.

The reference numbers recited in the below claims are solely for ease ofexamination of this patent application, and are exemplary, and are notintended in any way to limit the scope of the claims to the particularfeatures having the corresponding reference numbers in the drawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method (100) of waking from energy-efficienthibernation to receive indoor localization beacons, the methodcomprising: a. passively associating (101), by a tag (1001), with adetection point (DP) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has movedto a new location, wherein associating comprises determining, by the tag(1001), a reveille time, wherein the reveille time is calculated in acloud server, wherein the reveille time is a value derived from at leastone of a tag ID and a DP ID; b. transmitting (102) at a first interval,by the DP (1002), a beacon for every possible address; c. executing anawakening cycle (103) at a second interval, by the tag (1001), at thereveille time using a clock, wherein the awakening cycle furthercomprises: i. receiving (104), by the awakened tag (1001), thetransmitted beacons, ii. confirming (105), by the awakened tag (1001),the address.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, byeach DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs, the updated location andfiltering, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs, noise associatedwith each transmission using a Kalman filter.
 3. The method of claim 2further comprising: a. determining, by each DP (1002) of the pluralityof DPs, an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filtered transmission; and b.applying, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs, MUltiple SignalClassification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy of the determined Angleof Arrival.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the clock is aresistive-capacitive circuit timing element (1004).
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the tag (1001) awakens from sleep by initiating a bareboot, wherein the bare boot comprises booting from a hibernation statedirectly to an awakened state.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein thebare boot comprises booting from hibernation without performing a systemcheck, without reading all memory locations to ensure that memory hasnot been corrupted, and without checking the IO of peripherals.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the two-way authentication comprisescomparing a first challenge encrypted by the tag (1001) and a secondchallenge encrypted by the DP (1002), wherein the first challenge is aprime integer equal to the second challenge.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the awakening cycle (103) further comprises: a. determining(106), by the awakened tag (1001), a time difference between when thebeacon was received and when the beacon was expected, and b.phase-locking (107), by the awakened tag (1001), the clock based on thetime difference.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the value derivedfrom the at least one of a tag ID and a DP ID comprises a concatenationor hash of a tag ID and a DP ID, a location ID of a DP (1002) modifiedby a location ID of a tag (1001), or a combination thereof.
 10. A method(200) of waking from energy-efficient hibernation to transmit an indoorlocalization beacon, wherein the method comprises: a. passivelyassociating (201), by a tag (1001), with a DP of a plurality of DPs ifthe tag (1001) has moved to a new location, wherein associatingcomprises determining, by the tag (1001), a reveille time, wherein thereveille time is calculated in a cloud server, wherein the reveille timeis a value derived from at least one of a tag ID and a DP ID; b.executing an awakening cycle (202) at a second interval, by the tag(1001), at the reveille time using a first clock (1004), wherein theawakening cycle (202) further comprises: i. transmitting (203) at afirst interval, by the awakened tag (1001), a beacon, ii. receiving(204), by the DP (1002), the beacon, iii. confirming (205), by the DP(1002), the address.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisingreceiving, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs, the updatedlocation and filtering, by each DP (1002) of the plurality of DPs, noiseassociated with each transmission using a Kalman filter.
 12. The methodof claim 11 further comprising: a. determining, by each DP (1002) of theplurality of DPs, an Angle of Arrival of the Kalman-filteredtransmission; and b. applying, by each DP (1002) of the plurality ofDPs, MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) to improve the accuracy ofthe determined Angle of Arrival.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein thefirst clock (1004) is a resistive-capacitive circuit timing element(1004) and the second clock (1005) is a temperature-compensated crystaloscillator (TCXO) timing element (1005).
 14. The method of claim 10,wherein the tag (1001) awakens from sleep by initiating a bare boot,wherein the bare boot comprises booting from a hibernation statedirectly to an awakened state.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thebare boot comprises booting from booting from hibernation withoutperforming a system check, without reading all memory locations toensure that memory has not been corrupted, and without checking the IOof peripherals.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the awakening cycle(202) further comprises: a. updating (210), by the DP (1002), thelocation of the tag (1001), b. delaying (206), by the DP (1002), thetiming of future transmission to the tag (1001) using a second clock(1005), wherein the delay is equal to a difference between when thebeacon was received to when the beacon was expected.
 17. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the two-way authentication comprises comparing a firstchallenge encrypted by the tag (1001) and a second challenge encryptedby the DP (1002), wherein the first challenge is a prime integer equalto the second challenge.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the valuederived from the at least one of a tag ID and a DP ID comprises aconcatenation or hash of a tag ID and a DP ID, a location ID of a DP(1002) modified by a location ID of a tag (1001), or a combinationthereof.
 19. A method (100) of waking from energy-efficient hibernationto receive indoor localization beacons, the method comprising: a.passively associating (101), by a tag (1001), with a detection point(DP) of a plurality of DPs if the tag (1001) has moved to a newlocation, wherein associating comprises determining, by the tag (1001),a reveille time, wherein the reveille time is a value derived from atleast one of a tag ID and a DP ID; b. transmitting (102) at a firstinterval, by the DP (1002), a beacon for every possible address; c.executing an awakening cycle (103) at a second interval, by the tag(1001), at the reveille time using a clock.